Red Wings
by PseudonymHere
Summary: Ron is taken to to the School and experimented on when he is 5. Escaping, he leaves the Flock and rejoins the Weasley clan at the age of 10. A year later, he is re-introduced to the world of wizards. Struggling through the years to keep his past a secret, when the Flock reappear, what will he do? How will his friends react to his violent past? WARNING- SPOILERS!
1. Prologue

****

The young redheaded boy smiled up at the Eraser. This is too easy, it thought in derision. These wizards had horrible security. All he had to do was walk up to the house and snatch the child, who was playing in the front yard. Nobody was even watching him. Like taking candy from a baby, it reflected.

And so Ronald Weasley was taken from his family at the age of five and was not seen by wizard eyes for five years. Five long, hard, miserable years.


	2. Chapter 1

**Hey peeps. The chapters for this are going to be really short. I've been writing this for awhile so i have a few stockpiled, but I'm really busy and so I probably won't update superfast.**

**Second fanfic ever, so please be nice.**

**I don't own (shocking, right?)**

**Also, reviews are like cookies. And they would make for a great Christmas present...**

I watched as they dragged a little five-year-old boy in a crate and put it next to mine. How could they do this to such a small child? I wondered in morbid disgust. I knew it was unlikely that he would last the week.

The White-Coats were pure evil, to drag such a sweet little kid into this world of terror.

I swore to myself, then and there, that I would do all I could to protect this kid from the evils lurking in these dreaded halls.

***

Ron was confused. Mum had always told him not to talk to strangers. But he hadn't actually said anything. So where was he? And why did it smell so.. cold? Where was his mummy? He didn't like it here, not at all. He wanted to go home, to see his mum and dad and his brothers.

He began to quietly cry to himself, and then the big mean man who had shoved him in a bag and took him from home whacked him and told him to shut up. Ron gasped. Mummy had always said to never say shut up, and this bad man had just said it!

Ron's dislike of the man grew.

The man put him in some sort of cage and left him in a room with … things. Many of them looked like they had once been human, but now they weren't.

The only normal looking people there were two girls and two boys. The oldest looking, a girl, had long dirty blonde hair. the next was a dark-looking kid. He looked like the pictures Fred had shown him of Goths, a kind of Muggle.

The next had reddish-blonde hair and looked like he couldn't see very well.

The youngest, who looked to be about two years older than himself, had dark skin and hair. She looked friendly.

Remembering his manners, he wiped his eyes of tears and said, "Hi. I'm Ron, Who are you?"

The dark-skinned girl said, "I'm Nudge! I named myself! Do you like it? I do. I think I have the best name ever! Of course, your name is nice too. I hope you don't mind that I like mine better though!" She said this so fast that Ron had trouble processing it all.

The reddish-blonde with the bad eyes interrupted. "Nudge, be quiet." Then he turned to Ron."Sorry about her. She talks a lot. I'm Iggy, and I'm blind."

Ron had never met a blind person, and so was stricken at the thought of not being able to see.

The Goth boy said "Fang." then was silent.

The oldest introduced herself as Max.

Max asked where he was from.

"I'm from Britain!" Ron exclaimed proudly.

"Well, Ron, you're really far from home." Iggy states sadly.

"W-where am I?"Ron asks. He had never really been that far from his house before and was scared at the thought of not seeing his mum.

"Well, you're in California." Max said.

"Where is that?" Ron hadn't learned about California yet.

"It's in America!" Nudge explains.

Ron was scared now. He didn't want to be in America. He wanted to be at The Burrow, at home, safe with his family.

"B-but I don't wanna be in America!" Ron warbled.

Max tried to comfort the small child. Unfortunately, the only child she had ever comforted was Nudge, and she never needed much more than a lengthy conversation.

Max doubted this would work on Ron.

Shockingly, it was Iggy who managed to calm Ron down.

Iggy had the cage right next to Ron's, and could reach over and touch the small child comfortingly.

That is, until the Eraser came in and took him away.

The Flock sighed. The knew that the chance of seeing Ron alive again was little to none.

***

"Where are you taking me?" Demanded Ron.

The Eraser did not respond.

"Ignoring people is bad manners! Rude, rude, rude, rude!" Ron chanted.

The Eraser had little patience for this, and quickly put a stop to it. Ron would have the black eye for a week.

The Eraser dropped Ron off in a dull white room with only a desk and a chair. Ron was immediately bored stiff.

"Here's the brat" the Eraser grunted to the White-Coat inside.

Ron was poked and prodded for about an hour before the White-Coat seemed to come to a decision.

The scientist muttered as he scribbled down information. "Subject 4562 seems most apt for Golden Eagle D.N.A. transplant. Recommended highly."

He then left. Those were the only words he spoke the whole time.

***

Mrs. Weasley looked up from her cooking and glanced out the window, expecting to see her wonderful boy playing about.  
All she saw was empty space. This was a little worrisome, but Ron had wandered off a bit before. She sent Percy to find him.

30 minutes later, Percy came back- without Ron.

Thus began a day-long Ron-hunt.

By dusk, there had been no sign of him. Mrs. Weasley had even informed the Muggle police, who told her they would do everything in their power to get him back.

But Mrs. Weasley had a feeling that they would not find her son.

And she was right.


	3. Chapter 2

**Right. So, I have all the way up to chapter five pre-written. I can't really write chapter five, because I left my copy of SS back at home, and won't get it back for maybe a week. So I'll ration them out.**

**PseudonymHere**

**P.S. I don't own.**

Ron was 8 now. He had spent the last three years of his life in a place known as the School. But it would be more accurate to call it Hell.

Soon after they had taken him, they had grafted wings to his back in the most painful way possible. They had said that painkillers would ruin the process and so he went without while the White-Coats altered his very D.N.A.

He had ended up with wings of a Golden Eagle, but instead of the typical brownish color, his were almost as red as his hair.

The Flock, once they realized that he wasn't going to die (yet), welcomed him into their family. In the three years that followed, two more had joined the exclusive group.

The Gasman, or Gazzy. A word of advice- Stay upwind. Always.

And Angel. The baby of the group, she was only 4 and already had more powers than the rest of them combined.

Today, they were all escaping.

The plan had been the epicenter of all their thoughts for awhile now, and it was sometimes the only thing that kept them all going. Apperently, they were 'the best success since the Erasers', according to the White-Coats.

This meant more tests.  
Ron had had the most tests, as he was a wizard. Apperently, the White-Coats were trying to single out the gene that gave him magic, and see if they could give Muggles magic.

It was genuinely frightening.

But once they escaped, the School would be without it's test-wizard and their plots would be for nought.

They had managed to get a White-Coat to assist their escape (A miracle! One of them has a conscious!) and to take them to a place where they would be safe. His name was Jeb.

***

It was time! Ron hadn't been this excited in... He couldn't remember. This night would affect the rest of his whole life! They had to make it out, they had to.

The plan was Jeb would pretend like they were all going to do a test, and get them as far as he could useing that cover. Then, when trouble arose (as they knew it would) they would bolt for the nearest exit. Jeb had given them blueprints of the place, just in case they lost him.

Not the most elegant of plots, but it would work.

Hopefully.

Jeb came, right on time, to collect them. Rolling their crates through the halls on a trolly (it would look suspicious if they were just following Jeb like lost sheep), they passed about 100 Erasers before one thought to ask, "Where are they going, all at once? What's your clearence level?"

And then it all went to Hell.

The Flock all lept out of their (unlocked) cages and whailed that Eraser. Running to the nearest exit, they heard chaos behind them, and what sounded like-

Oh no.

The Erasers had guns.

Well, there wasn't much they could do about it, so they kept running as if their lives depended on it. Which they did.

Seeing a door with the words_ Fire Exit, Alarm Will Sound,_ Ron figured that a little added chaos wouldn't hurt, and he charged out it, followed quickly by the rest of the Flock.

To the symphony of guns and fire alarms, the Flock stretched their wings and _flew._


	4. Chapter 3

**Hey people who have opened this story! This is rather lame, in my opinion, and I'm pretty sure Max is OOC. But I hope that someone likes it. **

**Disclaimer- Raise your hand if you think I own.**

**If you raised your hand, please escort yourself to the nearest insane asylum.**

**Enjoy and R&R**

Chapter 3 (two years after the escape)

Ron and the Flock had been living in the E-house with Jeb for about two years now, and they were all happy. With almost no Erasers attacking, they had found peace.

But just in case, they had all learned how to fight properly from Jeb. Now, even Angel could take out anyone who challenged her.

It was kind of scary, actually.

They had a computer, and through it and Jeb, they learned all they could about everything.

During breakfast one morning, Jeb had said that he needed to go pick up something from the town that lay a few miles away, and would be back in an hour or two.

Three hours later, they began to get worried when he hadn't returned.

Four hours, and Max was flipping out. The whole Flock knew that she thought of him as a father, the only parental figure she had ever known. It was reasonable for her to freak, Ron supposed, but he wished she wouldn't. She was scaring Angel.

They searched for days, and it struck Ron that this must have been what his family- his original family, the Weasleys- would have looked for him. He wondered, as he often did, how they were. Ginny would be eight now, the same as Gazzy.

He wondered if he ought to go back. He could go to Hogwarts next year, learn how to control his magic. They had given up on finding Jeb, assuming he was killed by the School.

There was nothing more he could learn here, and he wasn't providing anyone a great service by staying.

But all the same... He had found a surrogate family in the Flock, and he knew it would tear him apart to leave.

***

Ron had come to a decision.

He would seek out his old family.

All he had to do now was break the news to the Flock... Wonderful.

Max would kill him.

He envisioned the conversation:

Ron: Hey Max, pass the ketchup, will you? And, by the way, I'm gonna leave the Flock to seek out my old family who live really far away and will probably not see you again like ever.

Max: Alright Ron, you can go, but I expect regular letters!

_Yeah, I wish_, thought Ron.

"Hey, Max?" He asked one day, after spending the past week gathering his courage.

"Yeah?" She asked, turning away from the computer.

"Well, I was wondering if maybe I could, umm... LookMaxcanIgotoEnglanandfind myoldfamilyplease?"

Max blinked.

"I'm sorry, didn't quite catch that last part." she said sarcastically.

"Can I go to England and find my other family? Please? I'd like to know what they have been up to. The thing is, I'm not sure if I'd see you guys again." Ron said, slower this time.

Max sighed. "Are you sure you've thought this all the way through? Do you really want this?"

Ron nodded.

Max frowned."Then I suppose this is for the best. Though I would like to say that you will always be welcome back here, in the Flock."

Ron smiled, "And if you are ever in England, you'd better stop bye."

And that was the end of that.

After a tearful goodbye to the rest of the Flock, and a few minutes packing supplies for the journey, Ron flew off to begin a new chapter of his life.


	5. Chapter 4

**Hello, you amazing people who rock! This is, if you have not yet figured it out yet, the 4th Chapter of Red Wings, my story that I think needs a better title (if anyone can think of one, please tell me- I might give you a Major Award!). **

**I hate it when authors hold chapters hostage for reviews, so I won't do that. But please, people, review, even if it's just something short like "Great story" or "This story is so bad that I would let my dog poo on it if that wouldn't ruin my computer" or even "My purple platypus named Tommy said that he ate a wombat the other day and it gave him indigestion for a week. Not fun, PseudonymHere. Not fun AT ALL." Well, you get what I mean.**

**Disclaimer: Because I own Max and Harry, totally. (sarcasm, for all of those nincompoops out there)**

Chapter 4

The red-head glided gently down, feet landing with a thump on the ground. He had been flying for longer than he was used to, and his wings ached.

But that didn't matter now.

He was home.

He looked around in wonder, noticing all the minute changes that had been made in his absence.

His heart almost stopped when he saw a grave. Who died? He thought, before realizing it was for him.

He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

He walked slowly up to the door, wondering what he would say. His whole family would be home, except for his father, who would be at work. It was the summer, Hogwarts had let out just last month.

The birds were chirping, the sun shining down on him. All in all, it was a beautiful day. He wondered where his brothers were, He had figured they would be outside, playing Quidditch.

But then he remembered it was the exact anniversary of his disappearance. Huh. Funny sometimes how things like that work out.

He was at the doorstep now.

Did he just knock? Ron had no clue- it wasn't like there was a self-help book titled "How To Tell Your Family You Haven't Been Dead For The Past Five Years."

Ron went with it- raising his hand, he steadily rapped his fist on the door.

He heard a bustling inside and wondered who would answer the door.

His answer came shortly- He heard the inner workings of the door click with his raptor hearing (that was not near a good as Iggy's) and prepared himself to see his family again. A huge smile spread across his face as his mother appeared behind the door.

"Hullo, Mum! Long time no see!" He said, British accent still there but not as noticeable after his five years in America.

Mrs. Weasley blinked. Then, realizing who was standing in front of him, she paled.

Looking closely at her wayward son, she somehow knew, with an instinct built up from her long years of mothering, that it was, in fact, her Ron.

Smile replacing her previous frown, she embraced her son in a hug so filled with love and happiness that it seemed to almost glow.

"I've missed you, Ron!" she breathed into his hair.

Detaching himself from her mighty embrace after a few minutes (even bird-kid/wizards have some dignity), he told her, "I've missed you too, Mum."

She led him further into his home, presumably to share the good news with the rest of the Weasley family.

Thus followed shock, happiness, and many, many, many hugs all around.

It was only when he flinched away from a surprise hug from behind was the inevitable question asked.

"Where were you?" Mrs. Weasley asked tremulously, when she saw her son shy away from a hug as if he expected to be whipped or something.

His eyes turned dark, much darker than a 10-year-old's eyes should ever be.

"I'd rather not talk about it," he said in a tone that brooked no argument. (He was imitating Max)

And that was the end of that.

**Sorry it's so short. Later, peeps.**

**REVIEW!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hello my amazing readers! I love you all sooo much! (not in a creepy way though...) Thank ou all for taking the time out of your day to read my humble offerings, and REVIEW! **

**Disclaimer: This chapter, and probably most of the ones following it, use direct quotes from the Queen of Writing herself. I do not want to tamper overmuch with her amazing works, and so I used the quotes.**

**P.S. The next update is probably going to be a week or maybe two weeks out, because I can't find my copy of the Sorcerers Stone. I am going to check it out from the school library when school starts again on Monday, but I'm not sure my mom will let me write on the weekdays. I'll try to update ASAP but yeah.**

**Apologies for any inconveniences.**

**REVIEW, PLEASE!**

Chapter 5 (1 year later, platform 9 3/4)

"This place is packed with Muggles, of course, be careful Ron." His mother told him.

"I know, Mum! I'll be fine! Promise!"Ron responded, somewhat testily. His mum had been very protective of him ever since he had returned. While sweet for a time, it got a bit old after awhile.

"Oh, I'll miss you all so much!" She said, much too loud for his liking.

"Now, what's the platform number?" She asked him, as if his time away had made him forget.

Ginny answered before he could roll his eyes.

"Nine and Three Quarters! Mum, can't I go?"

Mrs. Weasley replied, "You're not old enough Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you first."

Percy ran at the wall and disappeared through it. Ron thought about what the Flock would make of that and smirked.

"Fred, you next," Mrs. Weasley said.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George! Honestly woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"

"Sorry George, dear."

"Only kidding, I am Fred!" Fred said as he disappeared through the barrier after Percy.

Ron sniggered as his mum rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, there was a small green eyed boy standing next to them. He reminded Ron of himself, before he had returned home. Timid, scared. The boy asked how to get on the platform, and Mrs. Weasley told him. He went, and they followed.

The twins disappeared, probably to find a school friend or something.

A few minutes later, Mum had gathered her brood back together for a final goodbye.

"Ron, you've got something on your nose." Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, immediately trying to wipe it off.

"Aww, has ickle Ronnie go somefink on his noie?" George teased.

"Shut up," Ron growled, face flaming.

"Where's Percy?" Mum asked.

Fred told her he was coming.

"Can't stay long, mother," Percy said pompously, "I'm up front, the prefects have two compartments to themselves."

The twins adopted an air of sarcastic surprise.

"Ohh, are you a prefect, Percy?" George said, "you should have said something, we had no idea."

"Hang on, I remember him saying something about it, Once-"

"-Or twice-"

"-A minute-"

"-All summer-"

"Oh shut up," Percy interrupted.

"How come Percy gets new robes, anyways?" Fred asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Because he's a prefect." She responded proudly as Percy strode away to his prefect compartments. Turning on the twins, she began, "Now, you two-this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've- you've blown up a toilet or something - "

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet!" Defended George.

"Thanks for the idea, though, Mum." Added Fred.

"It's not funny! And look after Ron."

"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us!"George exclaimed. but with a trace of seriousness that told Mrs. Weasley he would protect his brother.

He still hadn't told them where he had been, and it was not for a lack of their trying.

He doubted he would ever tell them, that his wings would always stay folded tightly to his back.

"Shut up," he told his brother, to get his mind off that dreary thought.

The twins, however, had the attention span of a frog and were already regaling Mrs. Weasley with another tale, something about meeting Harry Potter.

Ron tuned it out, mostly.

What did he care if his brothers had met a celebrity?

The whistle blew, and they all climbed on the train.

The only compartment open was the one with Harry Potter in it.

After asking if he could sit down, he figured he might as well make a few friends. Who knew, he might be able to configure his own (wingless) Flock.

The twins appeared in the door, telling Ron about a giant spider down the hall. Ron rolled his eyes. After the twins had found out he was afraid of spiders (_you would be too, if you had seen the things I did!_ he defended himself mentally), they had teased him at every chance.

They introduced themselves to Harry, and they introduced him too.

Then they left.

"Are you really Harry Potter? Or are my brothers pulling my leg?"

"Yeah, I'm Harry." the boy in front of him muttered.

They had a conversation that lasted 'til they arrived at Hogwarts, and Ron had a feeling they would be good friends.

***

He was on the stool, Sorting Hat plopped on his head. The whole hall was staring at him. He didn't like being stared at, it reminded him of the School.

He could feel the Sorting Hat's surprise as it sifted through his memories.

_**Well, you certainly are a strong one, to have gone through all of that and still be sane.**_ It told him mentally.

**_There is really only one house for someone like you,_** it continued.

"GRYFFINDOR!" it shouted aloud to the hall.

He walked to his table amid clapping and whistles, and sat down next to Harry.

After everyone was Sorted, Dumbledore stood up and said a few odd words.

And then, the food appeared.

Now, as a mutant, he always ate a bit more than normal, and his family had noticed.

Which is why none of them were surprised when he ate so much a normal person would explode.

But Harry was giving him a bewildered look, not knowing that Ron hadn't even eaten half of what he could.

They walked up to the dormitories and Ron smiled when he saw the Common Room. It looked really cozy.

**So the ending is lame, but at least it's not really a cliffy, eh? While I can't locate my copy of SS, I am working on the chapters from CoS as I wait. So I'm still writing, people!**

**REVIEW!**

**-PseudonymHere**


	7. Chapter 6

**Hello Readers! SO sorry for the lack of updates, but my mom won't let me on the laptop during the week. Also I've got some questions for y'all.**

**1) does anyone know how to make those line things that are so cool? 'Cause I can't figure it out and would love to be informed.**

**2) In what year should the Flock come back? I'm thinking after 4th year but beyond that I'm not sure.**

**Also- would y'all rather I just cram the whole year into one chapter, or keep writing like I've been doing it? (I would rather do it like I am, because I already have most of the second book written up and also it makes the story look longer :P I had another reason I think but I can't remember it.)**

**Um yeah I think that's it.**

**Whew that was loooong. Enjoy!**

Chapter 6

Over the course of the next few days, Ron got lost about 23 times. Of course, about half of these were for show- he couldn't stand out too much.

As Friday came around, Ron and Harry met a huge milestone in their Hogwartian career. They managed to get to the Great Hall without getting lost.

Ron looked at their schedule and frowned as he saw what the day's classes were.

"What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron.

"Uggg. Double Potions with the Slytherins," Ron groaned. "Snape's head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them- We'll be able to see if it's true."

"Wish McGonagall favored us," Harry muttered, still steaming about the huge pile of homework they had gotten from their own Head of House.

Just then, the mail arrived. Harry had gotten an invitation to Hagrid's house for after classes. And it was a good thing, too, because Potions was the worst class in the history of classes.

It began with Professor Snape insulting the first years and scaring them out of their wits. Followed by a quick round of Ask-Harry-Impossible-Questions-That-Nobody-Knows -The-Answer-To-Except-Hermione-But-She-Doesn't-Count-Because-She-Knows-Everything.

By the end of the lesson, Harry had come to one conclusion- Snape hated him.

"Cheer up," Ron tried to improve the mood, "Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?"

Harry said yes, and five to three found them standing outside Hagrid's hut, knocking.

"_Back_, Fang, _back_!" Hagrid's voice sounded, followed by scrabbling and shoving behind the door. Ron had to laugh when he saw that this Fang was a dog.

Hagrid let them in, and told them to 'make themselves at home.'

"This is Ron," Harry introduced.

"Another Weasley, eh? I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest." He grinned.

Hagrid proffered a tray of what looked like pebbles, while promising they were edible. Deciding he trusted Hagrid, Ron tentatively ate a few. One thing he had learned from his past was to never turn down non-poisoned food.

The cakes tasted exactly how they looked - like rocks.

Ron learned another important lesson that day. Never, ever, _ever,_ eat food that Hagrid made.

He also learned that Hagrid was a terrible liar.

When asked why about the Gringotts break in, all he did was quickly change the subject. This was also what he did when the subject of Snape hating Harry came up.

Ron froze as, the next morning, he saw a flyer pinned to the bulletin board. 'Flying Lessons, Starting Thursday.' His first thought was, "But, none of these people have wings..." Then he remembered brooms and nearly facepalmed.

Of course, Ron was a great flyer, how could he not be? As he read the rest of the flyer, he groaned along with the rest of the Gryffindors surrounding him. Flying lessons were Thursday, with the_ Slytherins_. Great.

Harry was thinking along the same lines as Ron. He said, "Typical. Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."

"You don't know you'll make a fool out of yourself," Ron argued,"Anyways, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's just talk."

And it was true; Malfoy loved regaling everyone with tales of his many flying pursuits. Most of these stories seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggle helicopters. When Ron heard this, he had wondered aloud why Malfoy hadn't had the common sense to avoid the contraptions in the first place, suitably embarrassingthe pale blonde boy.

Neville and Hermione seemed both to be very concerned about their first lessons in flight. Neville because he was so accident-prone, Hermione because here was a subject in which you could not become proficient in through books. That wasn't for lack of trying on her part, however.

Thursday found her anxiously reading aloud flying tips from 'Quidditch Through the Ages' at the breakfast table, Neville eagerly hanging onto her every word.

That is, until an owl landed in front of him, a package in it's beak.

"A Rememberall!" He exclaimed, excitement in his voice,"Gran knows I forget things - this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red - oh...you've forgotten something..." Apparently, Neville had forgotten something, because at that very second, the device turned red.

As Neville tried to remember what it was he had forgotten, the Rememberall was snatched from his hands by none other than the pale Malfoy heir.

Harry and Ron jumped to their feet, eager to get a chance to pound Malfoy. But before they could even utter an insult, Professor McGonagall strode over, saying sternly, "What's going on?"

"Malfoy's got my Rememberall, Professor," Neville said.

At McGonagall's look, Malfoy scowled and dropped the Rememberall back into Neville's palm, stalking hurriedly away.

**R&R Please!**

**-PseudonymHere**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hey peeps!**

***hides from what might be rotten fruits flung at her***

**SOOOOOOOO SORRY for the terrible wait, I feel horrible. I thank Guest, who reviewed so epically that she/he guilted me into writing this meagre chapter. **

**I would like to thank that my Spare Time and my Muse eloped with each other and are living somewhere in Africa. I am currently tracking them down, and I think I've got their location down to a few hundred square miles. Then it's just a simple matter of booking a lane down there and dragging their ungrateful butts back here, where they belong.**

**So yeah. If you would like to thank something for this chapter, thank my unexpected bout of Pink Eye, which is keeping me home from school tomorrow. I sense much writing of fanfiction in the future :D**

Chapter 7

Flying lessons were at three thirty that afternoon. Ron, while having minimal experience on a broom, knew he would be one of the best flyers in his year. He had, after all, been made for it.

It was the perfect day for flying, clear and breezy. They waited in the courtyard for Madame Hooch.

When she did, she immediately demanded that everyone stand by a broomstick.

"Stick out your right hand over your broom and say 'up'!" She commanded.

Ron and Harry were the only ones who's brooms leaped up into their hands. Everyone else's just sort of rolled around on the ground.

Once everyone had their brooms in hand, Madame Hooch continued to lecture.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle - one - two - three -"

Before she could finish, however, Neville had shot upwards in nerves. Madame Hooch was in a panic, shouting at Neville to come back down, and the Slytherins were sniggering softly.

Suddenly, Neville fell off his broom and rammed into the ground, hard.

He was rushed off to the hospital wing and the class was left behind without supervision.

Slytherins + Gryffindors + no supervisor + broomsticks = disaster.

And disaster was what occurred. After a series of interesting events, Harry was made Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team and Ron hadn't gotten to fly at all.

***

The next day, Malfoy was still steaming about the incident.

He had challenged Harry to a wizards duel, and Ron had accepted for him, volunteering as second.

The duel was to be held at midnight in the trophy room. Hermione, who had overheard the earlier challenge, had followed them to protest their rule-breaking and gotten locked out of the common room for her efforts so she decided to join Ron and Harry.

Neville had also joined them, because he had been sent back to the common room earlier and couldn't remember the password.

Their party of two- now a party of four- went to the trophy room only to realize that Malfoy hadn't shown up, and that he had told Filch they would be out of bed.

Thus ensued a rapid but silent chase around the castle which ended with the four taking refuge in an empty corridor.

Or, so they thought.

Ron was the first to notice the giant creature behind them

"What the bloody hell is that?!" Ron squeaked as he caught sight of the hideous monster that was vaguely reminiscent of an Eraser, with three heads.

Three heads.

Not even Ron had ever seen a three-headed creature before. He wondered, briefly, if Dumbledore was in cahoots with the School, or maybe Snape, because he seemed more the type to abduct small children and inject them with foreign D.N.A.

But he dismissed the thought, because if there was one thing that haunted his nightmares, it was his old life coming back to haunt him, and he really didn't want to think about it right now, not when he was in a potentially deadly situation.

He and the others immediately ran out the door, deciding that between certain death and possible expulsion, the latter was the better choice.

Happily, Filch had gone to search somewhere else and the four were allowed to race back to the common room in (relative) peace.

After a while of getting his breath back (not that he particularly needed to, but it was the principle of the matter) Ron said, "What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing locked up in the school? If any dog needs exercise, that one does."

Hermione kindly pointed out that the dog had been guarding something, and Harry's eyes lit up as he realized that he knew where the grubby little package from vault 713 was. *

***You know the one. I really don't think I need to re-explain the plot, because if you are reading this you really ought to have read the book already and if you haven't read it you really should because its epic. So yeah.**

**I would like to state that while I haven't been posting lately, I HAVE been writing, and if yu are a Psych fan, you're in luck because I recently re-discovered the show and plan on many fics in the near future. Also, I have hade a stroke of genius in the form of an idea for a Psych/Supernatural crossover, and I'm sure that when I've finished watching that show there will be fics for it too. Also I'm writing an origional story that is pretty epic too. So yeah.**

**PLEASE REVIEW THEY MAKE ME HAPPY LIKE BROWNIES AND FLUFFY UNICORNS AND STUFF AND THEY DO ACTUALLY GET ME TO WRITE MORE SOMETIMES!**


	9. Chapter 8

**You all should feel very very lucky. Two chapters in one day? I feel so very epic. Yes, I know that this chapter is short, and that this story is going slow, but I expect that it won't be getting faster anytime soon. I can't resist writing all of the major scenes from a sort of Ron-centric third person POV, as opposed to a sort of Harry-centric third person POV. And the whole 'wings' thing kind of adds a whole new angle to everything. Sorry, but I think I'm primaily writing this for my own pleasure and you'll just have to bear with me. I would very much like to thank wizardscanbedemigods for being an epic human being and also a genius. She/he suggested that I do something in the story (can't tell you what though- Spoilers!) and I am totally gonna do it cause its so epic and so yeah. See? I told you I listen to suggestions! **

Chapter 8

On the day of Halloween, Ron did a terrible, terrible thing. After the fact, he couldn't even remember why he did it. He felt so guilty. Max would have slapped him, probably, and Ron honestly felt like smacking himself.

He felt like an Eraser.

Being the target of such words for a large part of his childhood, Ron knew how it felt to be insulted that way. He couldn't believe he had let his anger get to his head enough to make him say what he did. He regretted the words as soon as they had left his mouth, and the regret multiplied tenfold as he saw the target of his mean words brush past him, his avian vision telling him that she was crying.

Ron had made a girl cry.

He felt like such a jerk.

Life went on, and he made plans to apologize profusely at dinner.

But that was before the troll intervened.

Stupid ugly brute.

Ron had been keeping an eye out for Hermione all through dinner, discreetly of course. He grew worried when she didn't show up, and was considering bringing food to offer as reconciliation when he realized she wasn't coming.

Of course, then Quirrell (There was something off about that man, Ron thought) had barged in and incited mass panic, completely ruining all of Ron's carefully made plans.

Dumbledore immediately took control over the situation, rumbling out loudly over the crowd, "Prefects- Lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Percy was in his element, ordering people around and shouting at them to calm down.

He herded the first years back to the Common Room.

Harry had a sudden thought as they passed by a portrait of a weeping woman. "I just thought- Hermione!" he hissed at Ron.

"What about her?" Ron replied, still feeling guilty.

"She doesn't know about the troll."

Knowing what Harry had in mind, Ron bit his lip, before finally saying reluctantly, "Oh, all right. But Percy'd better not see us."

The two slipped away, headed to the girls bathroom, where Hermione had been lurking.

Ron heard footsteps and yanked Harry behind a statue of a gargoyle, hissing, "Percy!"

But it was not Percy that came into view as he rounded a corner, but Snape.

"What's he doing? Why isn't he in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?" Hrry asked.

"Search me," Ron replied, having no idea.

Harry said, after a minute of listening to Snapes footfalls, "He's headed to the third floor."

"Do you smell that?" Ron asked as he inhaled what smelled like a dead racoon mixed with dirty gym socks and rotten eggs that had been left to congeal for maybe a year.

And then they both paled as they heard it- the low grunting, heavy footfalls, and shuffling gait of the very thing they had been trying to avoid.

The troll was coming straight towards them.

They hid in the shadows and the troll completely missed them- apparently the rumors about the size of trolls' brains were true.

It shuffled into a room, and Harry noticed that it had a lock, proposing that they lock it in.

They did, and were already celebrating in their heads when a piercing scream rang from the interior of the room.

Both boys paled dramatically as they realized what they had just done.

Because the room that they had just locked the troll in was the same room where Hermione was.

**OOHHH cliffie! Not really 'cause we all know what happens next. But anyway, I fee like I'm on a roll, and my muse has come crawling back (about time!) though the same cannot be said for my free time. I should be updating tomorrow, barring unforseen complications.**

**REVIEW BECAUSE YOU KNOW I LOVE THEM AND ALWAYS TOTALLY FLAIL WHEN I GET THEM!**

**OMK. It just hit me. At this moment, I have 32 reviews. 32! Can you believe it?! OMK I feel so epic!**

**-Pseu**


	10. Chapter 9

**I POSTED AGAIN! YAY ME! I messed a tiny bit with J.K/ Rowling's plot in this one, and I slipped in the Mirror of Erised. I think I've pretty much gotten how I'm going to take the story from here, and I have to ward you that it might be awhile before we get to the good stuff. Also, I'm taking suggestions on how and why the Flock show up in Ron's 5th year. I have a few scenarios in my head but nothing for certain.**

Chapter 9

Despite the fact that they were first years and that going up against a troll would probably get them killed, both boys ran straight back towards the newly-locked door. The least they could do was join Hermione in imminent death.

Opening the door, Harry and Ron ran inside, noticing Hermione shrieking her lungs out, cowering by the back wall.

The troll was slowly but menacingly approaching Hermione.

"Confuse it!" Harry hissed at Ron, who nodded and then began throwing things around the room.

The troll couldn't tell which noises were real and which noises were made by Harry and Ron and which were made by the things they were throwing. Ron motioned for Harry to keep throwing while he circled around the troll (who was standing dumbly right in the middle of the room) and grabbed Hermione.

They dragged her out of the room and re-locked the door, leaving before anyone could find out what they did.

On the way back to the Common Room, Ron apologized to Hermione like he had promised himself he would, and she forgave him.

To put it cheesily, they parted ways as unlikely friends.

* * *

By Christmas break, they were well on their way on figuring out what the small thing from vault 713 was. It was somehow connected to a Nicholas Flamel, but none of them knew who he was.

So they searched the Library.

Again and again.

If there was one thing that Ron wasn't all that fond of, it was books.

The idea of sitting someplace for hours on end, staring at words, was not appealing for a wizard who was secretly 2% bird.

But read he did, because he knew it would help his new friends.

None of them had found anything, and soon it was time for the majority of the castle to go home for Christmas break. Harry and Ron were staying, Harry because he didn't want to go home and Ron because his mom and dad were going to visit his big brother Charlie in Romania.

One night, Harry took Ron to an empty classroom, saying that he had found something awesome there and wanted to share it with Ron.

At first, Ron was confused when he saw the interior of the classroom. The only thing there was a lonely old mirror, dusty and abandoned. Slightly sad, yes, but Ron failed to see the 'awesome' factor.

Until Harry moved so that he was standing right in front of it.

What he saw in the mirror was Heaven.

He saw his family and the Flock, in the background, getting along. He saw his wings out, and he saw that nobody was looking at him oddly, like he was a freak.

Everyone was just there, looking proudly at him for something he had done- what exactly he did was unknown, but he didn't really care. What mattered was that he was displaying his wings and none of his friends were looking at him in a betrayed fashion.

"Is this- does this mirror tell the future?" Ron asked, hope rising in his chest.

"I don't see how it can. When I look in, I see my family- my real family, not my aunt and uncle. I see my mum and dad, and what I assume are grandparents and great-aunts and uncles and such." Harry replied.

"Maybe it shows your deepest wish." Ron suggested, glancing at the picture in front of him with longing.

"Why? What do you see?" Harry asked curiously.

"I'd rather not say, please. It's sort of private." Ron said.

Harry didn't ask again.

That night, they took turns staring deep into the depths of the mirror. Nothing really happened, except when Ron noticed the burning building, laughing aloud as he saw that it was the School.

How fitting.

Come the next morning, Ron decided it would probably be best if they didn't go back to the mirror. "It's just going to take over your life," he told Harry at breakfast,"No, better we don't obsess over what may happen. Or in your case what probably won't happen."

Ron noticed that Harry didn't heed his warnings and kept sneaking out at night to gaze into the mirror, but didn't stop him.

It wasn't his business, anyway.

**Review because the pineapples told you to!**

**On that note, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed last chapter and I hope that you will continue to do so because you are all epic and I love them and yeah.**


	11. Chapter 10

**I am uploading this from my school computers. The next chapter will be the end of the sorcerers stone :D **

**REVIEW!**

Chapter 10

Soon enough, Christmas Break was over and the castle was once again filled to the brim with students and staff.

One day, Harry came across another Dumbledore Chocolate Frog card and they put all of the pieces together. They now knew who (Snape) what (the Sorcerers Stone) where (third floor corridor) and why (who wouldn't want the Stone?) The only thing they didn't know was when.

Before they could figure out what to do, Harry's next Quidditch match was coming up, and Snape was refereeing. After his last match, in which Hermione and Ron had witnessed Snape cursing Harry's broom, none of them were too keen on Snape being anywhere near the pitch for this one.

But there was nothing they could do.

On the day of the match, everyone drew a collective sigh of relief as they noticed that Dumbledore had turned out for the event. They all knew that Snape couldn't try anything in front of Dumbledore.

So they settled back to watch the game.

But the game was ruined for them when Malfoy, their least favorite bully, came swaggering up, apparently having nothing better to do than antagonize innocent Gryffindors.

First, he picked on Neville, who was sitting right by Ron and Hermione.

Neville's response, while valient, was scoffed at by the pale blonde brat.

Ron said, "You tell him, Neville," still distracted by the game.

"Longbottom, if brains were gold, you'd be poorer than Weasley,and that's saying something." Malfoy continued to taunt.

Nerves already stretched thin on account of the Stone and Harry, Ron whiped around, snapping, "I'm warning you, Malfoy - one more word-"

He was cut off when Hermione shrieked, "Ron! Harry!-"

"What? Where?"

Harry had gone into a sudden and quite well- executed dive. Ron had to admire his friend's flying abilities.

"You're in luck, Weasley! Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" Ma;foy chimed in.

Rage boiled in Ron. He may not have spent his whole life with them, but he was still a Weasley, no matter what. "Malfoy, you are a stupid idiotic spoiled brat with absolutely no concept of human kindness," Ron snapped at the boy, and punched him square in the nose, only holding back enough to not cause permanent damage.

Malfoy's shriek was drowned out by the roar of the crowd as Harry apperantly caught the snitch.

Gryffindor had won.

And Malfoy had a broken nose.

As Ron shook off his fist, he felt a feeling of satisfaction well up inside him.

* * *

When Harry came back to the Common Room after the game, it was with grim news. After doing a little bit of stalking, Harry had borne witness to a clandestine meeting between two of Ron's least favorite teachers. Snape and Quirrell.

Apparently, Snape knew how to get past all of the safeguards blocking the Stone from being stolen, except for the one devised by Quirrell.

He had been attempting to figure it out, but Quirrell didn't tell him. Based on what they knew of the timid professor, the Stone would not be safe for long.

But for the life of them, they could not think what to do about the matter, except encourage Quirrell.

So that was what they did.

**Lame ending, I know. Please, review because they rock!**


	12. Chapter 11

**HEY GUYS! So sorry for the wait, I'm really sporadic in my writing habits. Happily, I have a long chapter for you all today! LETS ALL GIVE A CHEER!**

***cricket, cricket***

**...Alright then. **

**Anyway, here is some serious stuff- I have gotten two AMAZINGLY EPIC reviews asking me wh Ron was acting so cannon, and I would like to clear up some confusion. My thought process when I had this idea (read- rabid plot bunny attack) was that Ron could TOTALLY be a Flock member, with a few tiny adjustments. In my head, Cannon Ron was easily melded into Ron-the-Flock-member/wizard-who-wants-to-fit-in-an d-acts-normal. Maybe I was just not thinking it through, but I thought that Flock-Ron could easily equal Cannon-Ron. After all, the idea (*cough* plot bunny attack *cough*) came to me when I was reflecting on the fact that Ron ate a lot.**

**Please, tell me if that made any sense at all. If it didn't, I'll try to explain it better when I am more awake.**

**Anyway, CHAPTER TIME!**

**Chapter 11**

Ron stood in front of the imposing wooden door, glad that he had his friends around him to back him up (and also glad that Harry had somehow managed to get ahold of an Invisibility Cloak).

The door was already ajar, which could only be bad for them, as it meant that Snape could have already gotten the Stone.

Ron breathed in, preparing himself mentally and physically for everything that could happen beyond those doors.

It was actually kind of thrilling to face danger for the first time in so long.

"Well there you are. Snape's already got past Fluffy." Harry said quietly so as not to be heard. As the next sentence came out of his mouth, Ron decided that if there was award for the stupidest statement of the year, this would have won (by quite a long shot).

"If you want to go back, I wouldn't blame you. You can take the cloak, I won't need it now."

Ron looked at him as if he had grown an extra head. "Are you kidding? This is the good part! You think after all that time I spent in the library reading, I would just let you go in there and hog all the fun? Please, tell me you're joking."

Harry grinned at him.

"We're coming," Hermione reaffirmed.

As they walked in, Hermione asked, "What's that at it's feet?"

"Looks like a harp. Funny, I can't really picture Snape strumming one of those." Ron said.

The other two snorted at the mental image.

"It must wake up the moment you stop playing," Harry observed as the dog sniffed madly in their general direction, knowing that there was something there but unable to see it because of the cloak.

Harry raised the hand-whittled flute that they had brought along for just such an occasion to his lips and began to play a tuneless melody that was practically torture to Ron's genetically advanced ears.

"Harry, for the record, you stink at the flute." he said, while creeping around the now-snoring dog's head and yanking the trapdoor open.

"Can you see anything?" Hermione asked him.

"No, just blackness. Not even a way down. I suppose we'll have to jump. I'll go first," he volunteered before Harry could, knowing that if the distance turned out to be fatal, he would have the best chances of surviving.

"Keep playing, Harry, and if anything happens to me just go and owl Dumbledore." Ron said as he prepared himself to leap, hoping beyond hope that Harry's horrible rendition of 'Happy Birthday' would not be the last thing he ever heard.

He jumped.

A few seconds and a THWUP later, he had landed on a sort of slimy, dark plant thing.

"It's safe, there's a plant thing that acts like a cushion!" He shouted up to his friends. He watched the indistinct form of Harry fall towards him, landing next to him. Hermione landed last.

"We must be miles under the school," Hermione breathed, looking around her at the darkness.

"Lucky this plant thing is here, really," Ron said.

"Lucky!," Hermione shrieked, "Look at you both!"

Ron did, and was shocked that he hadn't noticed the creepy plant entangling them up in its slimy tendrils before.

Suddenly, it felt like he was thrown he was thrown forcibly back into his past life- specifically, the moment where the worst test ever performed on him was put into action. He had been bound in cloth and thrown into a small, dark, coffin-like container, supposedly to test if he was claustrophobic. At first, it wasn't so bad, until he had started hearing noises. They kept him there for a day, paralyzed in fear of the unknown darkness surrounding him.

He let out a pitiful squeak as the plant tightened its grip around his midriff, squeezing his wings up against his back uncomfortably. He was not seeing what was going on around him, he was reliving the past. The dark, the noises, the fear.

He completely missed Hermione displaying her impressive brain by figuring out that it was Devil's Snare and that it liked the dark and damp, and Harry yelling at her to light a fire, and the plant's receding tentacles.

He was stuck in the past.

The three Hogwartians fell a few feet when the Devil's Snare released them, and they landed each with a thump. Harry and Hermione immediately got to their feet, but Ron lay still, curled into a ball and shaking slightly.

"Ron?" Harry asked tentatively. He and Hermione went over to Ron's shuddering form, fear for their friend evident on their faces.

"Ron? Are you alright?" Hermione asked. When she got no response, she began shaking the boy on the shoulder, Harry joining her in calling out his name.

Ron was trapped in his brain, the fear paralyzing. He was like a deer in the headlights, unable to get out.

His heart, which had always beat faster than normal, was now like a rabbit on a sugar rush running a marathon inside his chest. The thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump was all he heard, blood rushing past his ears.

Until faint, concerned voices barged their way past the overwhelming sounds of his body going into a panic attack.

"Ron? Ron, are you alright? What's wrong? Ron? Ron!" Someone was asking. He wanted to respond, but the overwhelming fear was like a tsunami, drowning out his reply before it had even risen to his lips.

He let out a gasp, trying to claw his way through the horror clouding his mind. "Ron!" he heard, "Snap out of it!" that was Harry, he was pretty sure.

With the reminder of the fact that he had friends around him, friends that would protect him from the darkness, and that he was no longer at the place of his nightmares, he snapped out of his panic attack, eyes whipping open to see his friends hovering nervously over him. He grunted and heaved himself upright, a little dizzy. *

"Are you alright?" Harry asked worriedly as Ron stumbled to his feet.

"Yeah, fine," he said, voice husky.

"Ron, that was a panic attack. Why did you have a panic attack?" Hermione pried.

Ron wanted to snap at her to mind her own business but knew that all it would do would make her more curious. So he gave a lame excuse.

"I had a... very bad experience... with some Devil's Snare when I was little. I'd really- I don't want to talk about it. It's- I'm fine." Ron said, shaken.

Hermione seemed to not like his answer, but accepted it. "well... If you're sure..."

"Very sure. I'm fine. Let's just... keep going." Ron said.

Giving him slightly weirded out looks, the other two lead the way forward.

They walked ahead for a ways, until they came to a room.

Except 'room' wasn't exactly the right word. It was brightly lit by something that Ron couldn't see, and the ceiling arched high above them. Fluttering around near the top was a flock of brightly colored birds.

Except they weren't birds.

No, Ron knew birds. These were more.. metallic. From what Ron could see from here- which was not much, though admittedly it was more than what Harry and Hermione could see- these fluttering things were more like metal sticks with colorful wings.

"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" Hermione asked.

"Only one way to be sure." Ron said, "Let's run for it."

And so they did.

Arms held up to protect their head, the trio raced as fast as they could across the long chamber. When they reached the other side, they realized that the door was locked. Ron and Harry both tugged at the door, but it didn't budge.

Hermione tried an unlocking charm, and it didn't work either. Harry squinted at the birds, and realized that they were more... key-ish than a bird should be. He put together the pieces and said that they probably had to catch the right key for them to move past the challenge.

So they did. Harry, with his Seeker skills that had been honed through many hours practice over the course of the year, managed to get on a broom and catch the key. Ron had to admit that, while his friend didn't have wings, he was a pretty darn good flyer.

They moved on to the next room, which was a huge chessboard, with life-size pieces. The board was set up for a game. Off to the side lay piles of crushed stone, the ominous remnants of players in games long past.

The three quickly reached the conclusion that each of them needed to take the place of one of the players. Ron was quickly elected 'leader' of this particular venture, as he was by far the best at chess.

After many heart-stopping moments, they had almost reached the end. Ron's experienced eyes roamed the board and he saw that there was only one option.

He had to be taken.

He nodded to himself, deep in thought. It was the only way for them to win the game. He knew this, but was not looking forward to the heavy blow that was sure to be landing on him soon.

He gave last minute instructions to Harry and Hermione, namely to just leave him there once the Queen had gotten to him. His two friends, distressed, tried to convince him that there was another way, but he was resigned to his fate and knew there was nothing else for it. So he brushed off his friends and their valid worries and won the match for them.

The last thing he remembered before the pommel of the Queen's sword crashed into his skull were the horrified looks of his friends.

****Then, everything went black.

**So. Y'all hate me now, right? Lol, I hope so 'cause that means I have FANS O.O *crosses fingers, whispers* please please let me receive some angry reviews from readers wanting more *hint hint***

**So, the next chappie should be pretty short, because it will just be me finishing up the SS boks and sending them home for the summer.**

**QUESTION- should I write a Weasley-centric chapter as a sort of 'over-the-summer filler' thing? And, if so, IDEAS PLEASE!**

***I made most of that panic attack stuff up, seeing as I have never seen one or anything. *Waves Creative Licence THIS BABY says I can do WHATEVER I WANT! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *hack hack cough cough wheeze wheeze***

**Ahem.**

**REVIEW, PLEASE! I swear they motivate me!**

**And, thank you for READING YAY!  
*falls asleep in chair, snoring***

***Official-looking dude walks in***

**Official Dude****- If anything PseudonymHere said or did in the A/N did not make sense/ made you question her admittedly questionable sanity, she pleads the fact that she was sleep deprived. She also begs me to inform you that she loves your reviews bout as much as she loves sugar.**

***Official-looking dude walks out***


	13. Chapter 12

**Look! Another CHAPTER! YAY! I had some spare time...**

Chapter 12

Ron blinked blearily. Where was he? He was laying in a soft bed, in a white room... Was he dead?! Worried now, Ron tried to remember how he had gotten where he was. He calmed when he realized that he was in the hospital wing.

He remembered the door, and the dog, and the Devil's Snare, and the keys and then the chess game, but nothing else. He wondered what had happened, his earlier fears creeping back.

By the time Madame Pomfrey walked in, Ron was borderline frantic, his imagination presenting him with all of the possible (and impossible) ways that the plan could have gone awry.

"What happened?" He demanded of Madame Pomfrey, who was clearly shocked to see him awake.

"How are you awake? That should be impossible, with the amount of damage you sustained!" she exclaimed.

"I heal fast. What happened?" He half explained hurriedly, needing to know what fate had befallen his friends. "Where are Harry and Hermione?"

"They are fine, Harry is resting and Hermione is reading a book. It was you I was worried about, what with that nasty blow to the head. How are you even awake?" Apparently, Madame Pomfrey would not be distracted from her goal.

"I told you, I heal fast. Always have, probably always will. I don't really know why, but ask anyone." Ron half-lied.

Unhappy with his vague reply, but knowing she could get nothing else from her impatient charge, Madame Pomfrey quickly ran a few tests and declared Ron completely fine with a shake of her head.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Ron was out the door. He hated the Hospital Wing.

He went to find Hermione, who was, as Madame Pomfrey had said, reading a book in the Gryffindor Tower.

"Hey Hermione." Ron said, plopping down on the couch where she was sitting.

"Ron! How are you here? I was sure you would be in the Hospital Wing for at least a few more days! Madame Pomfrey said that you shouldn't even wake up until tomorrow!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I heal fast. Always have, always will. Nobody's ever told me why." Ron explained, feeling bad about his lie. Before Hermione could ask more, he inquired of her what had happened after he had been hit.

She told him all she knew, about finding the troll knocked out and figuring out the riddle. About how Harry had gone on and then Hermione had come back and tried to care for him as best as she could. She soon gave up, because her first-aid skills were severely lacking. The best thing she could do, she told him, was to go and fetch help. So she did.

Dumbledore came and went after Harry, and Hermione nded up levitating him to the Hospital Wing.

"You really scared me," she told him, "You weren't moving at all and your pulse was really fast. At least, as far as I could tell. I was really worried."

Ron didn't know what to say. "Well, I'm fine now. I think we can validly say that Harry is the one we need to worried about. Did you see him? How did he look?"

"I was allowed in for a little bit. He looked really tired, even though he was asleep. He should be fine though, according to Madame Pomfrey."

Ron nodded, glad that nothing really bad had happened while he was out.

* * *

Ron sat, content, on the train. Overall, his first year at Hogwarts had been very good. The schoolwork was rather boring, but that was to be expected. There was enough danger to be slightly scared, but not so much that he was afraid to go back. He was glad that they had stumbled upon the mystery of the Sorcerer's Stone, or else the year would have been very dull.

He couldn't wait for next year.

Soon after he found out exactly what had happened to Hermione, Harry woke up and told them his side of the story. Ron was not as shocked as everyone else when they learned that Quirrel was the bad guy.

"That guy always felt a bit off to me," he explained when he didn't react with surprise.

The joy he had felt when his house had won the House Cup was monumental, and he was very happy that Neville had gotten some credit for what he had done. Ron had to agree- it was much harder to stand up to your friends.

Overall, they year had been good.

Soon, they were pulling up to the station, and he was reunited with his family. His mother was very worried. She had heard what had happened to him and wanted to make absolutely sure that her baby boy was perfectly alright.

After many assurances that he was fine, Ron was allowed to say goodbye to his friends.

Hermione and Harry assured him that they would write, and Harry told them that he was to have a lot of fun with his aunt and uncle over the summer. As he said, "They don't know we aren't allowed to use magic at home."

When his adopted family came to pick him up, Ron frowned at them, He really didn't like the look of them. As the Dursleys whisked Harry away, Ron fervently wished him good luck over the summer.

And then he went home.

**So. Review! I have gotten a few ideas for an over-the-summer chapter, but I will willingly take more. In fact, I'm BEGGING YOU ALL!**

**So yeah. See you later!**


	14. Chapter 13

**Note to self- NEVER write fluff ever again.**

**I apologize o each and every last one of you for subjecting you to this horror. It is so... BAD! In the end I decided that I couldn't even look at it and I just posted it. Sorry! I would have made it longer but I need to do some serious thinking about some stuff. Um so it might be a while 'til my next chap. The next two weeks are the last weeks of school for us so everything is due. Im REALLY busy But in 2 weeks I will be FREE. So yeah.**

**Sorry again for this REALLY REALLY FREAKING BAD chapter.**

**I would not blame you if you spared yourself the torture and just skipped it.**

**Chapter 13**

No matter how much fun and excitement Ron felt at Hogwarts, he was glad to be home. Despite the fact that for five years of his early life he was across the ocean, Ron had always thought of the Burrow as his true home.

Mum had welcomed him and his brothers home with the traditional feast, and Bill and Charlie had come back from Egypt and Romania respectivly as per tradition.

As each member of the Weasley clan sat down to the amazingly vast amount of food set strategically at the table, conversations were struck up. One thing about living in a family with so many people, there was always someone to talk to (even if you didn't want to).

Soon the inevitable question was asked- where had he been in the years he had been gone? Ron replied, "Where do you think I was?"

Thus began a round of conspiracy theories between the twins and Percy, who was very funny and- for lack of a better word- loose around his family but tended to get a bit pratty around others.

"Maybe you were abducted by aliens?" Fred suggested.

"Really? Is that the best you can do?" Ron taunted playfully.

"Did you run away and join a wild pack of lions?" George chimed in, looking hopeful.

"No. They were zebras." Ron deadpanned, much to the amusement of Ginny.

"Oh! I know! The Muggle Mafia got you!" Percy exclaimed.

"... No." Ron raised an eyebrow.

It went on like this for awhile, until the three got bored of guessing and Ron got bored of responding sardonically, and the conversation moved on to other things.

Namely, what exactly went on underneath Hogwarts.

"Hey, Ron, tell us the real story! I want to know what you and Harry and Hermione got yourselves into." Percy asked.

And so Ron told his story.

By the end, everyone looked like they would be ready to kill pretty much everyone who had been responsible for harming their dear boy.

"No, seriously, guys, I'm fine! And, if it was anyone's fault it was mine. Harry did offer us like a billion chances to turn back." Ron defended his friend.

"Why didn't you? Or at least why didn't you tell an adult?" Mrs. Weasley asked tremulously.

Ron said, "Are you kidding me? And let Harry have all the fun? And anyway, I like to say that the only way to be sure a job is done right is to do it yourself."

Soon the conversation moved on to other things. Ron asked Charlie about how things were going in Romania.

"Well, I found this one dragon egg while I was out walking, and I picked it up and took it back to camp. It hatched. It was a Mesopotamian Spiketail*, so I kept it. I named her Fidei. I brought her with me, she's flying around outside."

Predictably, Ginny cood at the thought of a cute little Spiketail. "Aww, that's so sweet! Fidei- that would be, um, Faith, right? In Latin?"

"Got it in one, little sis," said Percy proudly, who had been teaching Ginny a few phrases in Latin.

Ron grinned at the happy family surrounding him. He was so glad he had come back.

* * *

** *Just made that up. Mesopotamian Spiketail- most docile dragon alive. Not even officially considered a dragon, it is legal and common for this breed to be kept as a sort of guard dog. Can also carry mail and such.**

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**If any of you are good at fluff, PLEASE GIVE ME SOME CC!**


	15. Chapter 14

**Hey guys! Yes, I know that I told y'all I would put ALL of CoS into this one chapter, but, after consulting a very wise friend, I decided that it was better to split this up into two chapters. I think that y'all will like this chapter- I know I did. Also, its REALLY REALLY LONG so YAY! **

**Chapter 14 (a month after 13, right before CoS begins)**

Ron frowned as Errol clumsily flew through the window. In the back of his mind, he was thinking about what Max would have done to him if he had made such rudimentary mistakes...

But mostly, he was thinking about the lack of letters in Errol's talons.

Harry hadn't replied to any of his letters, not one. It was starting to worry Ron, because in his last letter that he had written, he had said that if Harry didn't reply, Ron would find a way to get to Privet Drive to check on him.

The fact that he had no clue where Harry's house was and had no viable way of getting there was the problem.

He couldn't fly there, he was too out of practice to make that trip. And he couldn't just randomly arrive without someone asking how he go there.

Faced with what seemed to be an impossible problem, Ron asked the Twins. Because they were great at this kind of thing.

They looked at each other and grinned. "Dad's flying car." they said in unison.

Ron almost facepalmed. "Why didn't I think of that?!" He asked himself aloud.

"Because you're an idiot." Fred said.

"Shut up."

Ron smiled. It was great to be back up in the air, even if he was only riding in a car.

His head was stuck out the window and his longish hair whipped past his face in the wind. The glorious wind.

Why had he ever stopped flying?

Ron resolved that every chance he got, he would sneak away and practice his flying. And his fighting. Though he hadn't seen an Eraser in three years, it never hurt to be on guard. Especially as he spent so much time around Harry.

Pulling his head back into the Ford, Ron's huge smile lit the interior of the vehicle.

"What's got you so happy?" Asked George.

"Nothing. Just... Good memories." Ron grinned.

The twins were surprised. By the way he had acted, Ron hadn't seemed to have any good memories from his time away, as it was known commonly in the Weasley clan.

"What, did you think nothing good happened in the whole five years?" Ron asked.

"Well, the way you acted when you got back from wherever it was didn't exactly make us think you spent your time relaxing in Florida." Fred replied.

"Oh. Well I did have some good times, with.." here he trailed off, realizing he was about to reveal something that was better left a secret.

"With?" George inquired eagerly. This was the closest Ron had ever come to telling anyone about where he went.

"Yeah. With. But I'm not gonna tell you who I was with. So don't ask." Ron crushed.

"Awwwww..." the twins whined.

"Trust me, guys. You don't want to know."

Ron literally growled as he saw what the Dursleys were doing to Harry. Years of neglect and abuse at the hands of the School came back to him as he saw his best (human) friend being starved and locked away.

The twins looked rather shocked at his feral display of rage.

"_Bad_ memories," He sort-of explained.

Ron rattled the bars on the window, partly because he hated all kinds of bars, partly to wake Harry up, and partly to test their strength.

_I could probably rip them off, not a lot of trouble. But we had better use the rope..._ He thought.

He heard a groan from inside. "Stop it... Leave me alone... Cut it out... I'm trying to sleep..."

Obviously Harry wasn't fully awake yet. Ceasing the rattling on the bars, Ron patiently waited for Harry to regain his grasp on reality.

"Ron!" breathed Harry, his voice full of hope. It physically hurt Ron to see his friend look at him like that, like he was the only thing that could rescue him from this nightmare.

He didn't show it, though. He had learned the poker-face from the master. Max.

"Ron, how did you - What the-?" Harry trailed off in shock as he saw what Ron was in. Ron grinned. He supposed it wasn't everyday that you woke up to a flying car outside your window.

"All right, Harry?" George asked, enjoying Harry's obvious shock.

"What's been going on? Why haven't you answered my letters? I've asked you to come stay about twelve times, and then Dad said you'd got an official warning for using magic in front of Muggles-" Ron asked in a rush.

"It wasn't me - and how did he know?" Harry replied.

"He works for the Ministry. You know we aren't supposed to do spells out of school-"

"You should talk," said Harry, eyeing the flying car.

"Oh, this doesn't count." Ron stated, 'We're only borrowing it, it's Dad's. He enchanted it. But doing magic in front of those _devils_ you live with -"

"I told you, I didn't - But it'll take too long to explain now. Look, can you tell them at Hogwarts that the Dursleys have locked me up and won't let me come back, and obviously I can't magic myself out or I'll be expelled, they'd think it'd be the second magic I've done in three days, and -"

"Stop gibbering," interrupted Ron, "We've come to take you home with us."

Harry frowned."But how? You can't magic me out either, for the same reasons."

Ron grinned. "You've forgotten who I've got with me." He said, gesturing grandly to Fred and George.

Fred threw a rope to Harry, saying, "Tie that around the bars."

"If the Dursleys wake up, they'll kill me" Harry muttered. It only made Ron more angry at the devils Harry was stuck with as extended family.

"Don't worry," George reassured, "And step back."

One mighty crunch later, the window was bar-less.

Fred maneuvered the car as close as possible to the window.

"Get in," Ron said.

Soon everything was loaded into the car, and they were off. The Dursleys, who had woken up right in the middle, were shaking their fists out the window angrily.

The mood in the car was lighthearted all the way back to the Burrow.

They landed smoothly on the lawn, and got out softly. They did not want to wake up Mrs. Weasley, because they knew that they would get in BIG TROUBLE if they did.

They snuck inside, creeping halfway through the kitchen before they saw her.

Radiating anger, arms crossed, Mrs. Weasley stood imperiously in front of the stairs.

"Umm... Hey Mum... Lovely morning, isn't it?" Fred asked, voice falsely jaunty.

If possible, Mrs. Weasley's fiery glare seemed to get more inflamed.

"No. Actually, it _isn't_! I woke up this morning to EMPTY BEDS AND NO NOTES! Do you know how much that terrifies me?! It was exactly like what happened when Ron was five! You- I- Just..." and suddenly, without warning, Mrs. Weasley was sobbing.

"Mum! Mum, it's alright, we're safe, it's not like last time! I promise we're all fine!" Ron sprang forward, propping up his mother, pulling her into a reassuring embrace.

"Oh Ron, I know. I know you're fine. But when I saw those empty beds I just flashed back to then, with the useless search parties and spells and charlatans who said they could help us find you..."

Harry's brow creased. This was unexpected. As Mrs. Weasley continued to attempt to get a grip, Harry asked Fred quietly, "What happened when Ron was five?"

Fred blinked at him. "You mean he didn't tell you? I would have thought that he would have, maybe even the whole story."

"Um, no. Ron never really mentioned anything happening while he was five." Harry said uncertainly.

"Huh." Fred said. By this time, Mrs. Weasley had gathered her decorum and was back to being mad at them for leaving her without telling her. Being a Mum, she promptly grounded the red-heads and assigned them chores.

Specifically, de-gnoming the garden. Mrs. Weasley told Harry that he was not to blame for her sons' misbehavior, that he didn't have do the chores, but Harry contended that it was no trouble, that he had never seen a de-gnoming before and was curious.

Ron said that it really wasn't that interesting, but Harry insisted. He figured he could ask about what happened when Ron was five while they were de-gnoming.

Ron explained to Harry how exactly one goes about a de-gnoming and soon the air was thick with flying potato-headed creatures.

Soon Harry couldn't stand it anymore. He asked, "So Ron. What happened when you were five?"

Ron's face got darker as he replied, "We don't really like to talk about it, in fact I make a point to keep conversations on the topic to a bare minimum. George will tell you."

George shot Ron a dirty look, but explained, "When Ron was five, he disappeared. We have no idea where he went, and he's not telling. He reappeared when he was ten. That's pretty much what happened when Ron was five."

Harry was silent. He almost asked Ron where he had been, but eventually decided that if the Weasleys had had no luck prying it out of him, Harry would fare no better.

As the boys continued hurling gnomes, the conversation turned to lighter topics and the revelation was pushed to the back of everyone's minds.

* * *

**(TIME SKIP! Now they are sitting in Myrtle's bathroom as Hermione works on the Polyjuice Potion!)**

Ron was a bit apprehensive of Hermione's plan. Though he knew it might be the only way to get the truth from Malfoy, he had always been hesitant to imbibe foreign serums.

He was sitting with Harry and Hermione in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom as Hermione added a few ingredients and stirred the cauldron a few times. To calm his fears, he was reading over the instructions carefully.

He found nothing particularly endangering. Disgusting, yes, but not threatening. That is, until he got to the bottom of the page, where he saw the '_Warning_' section.

_Not to be used if pregnant, terminally ill, or drunk. Creator of potion, Ivan Monthegue, not to be held liable for any and all damage caused by someone under the influence of Polyjuice potion. Not to be used for animal transformations._

Wait, what?

Animal transformations?

Well that put a bit of a damper on things. Was 2% bird enough to have the potion screw with his anatomy even more than it had already been screwed with?

If there was one thing Ron wasn't fond of, it was people screwing with his anatomy. He knew that there was no chance of him taking that potion.

But how was he going to explain that to his friends? He couldn't just back out now, not without a valid excuse. Too much was riding on the answers to the questions they were going to be asking for him to say no without an excellent reason. He stared at the words on the page, as he attempted to think of a semi-reasonable excuse for him to miss out on the simply amazing experience that was Polyjuice Potion.

Not able to think of anything foolproof enough to withstand scrutiny, Ron turned back to the fallback excuses. What would you say if you didn't want to do something?

Well, there was 'my dog ate my homework'. It was a classic, but somehow it didn't fit.

There was the 'I'm allergic to _(insert food you didn't want to eat here)'_, and that might work, except that Harry or Hermione might have asked one of the Weasleys.

Then, there was the 'I'm sick' thing. That seemed like the most viable option.

As a wizard, he knew a few spells that caused flu-like symptoms to appear. But, as a bird-kid, he could also raise and lower his external body temperature at will. It was a talent that only he had been bestowed, courtesy of the School.

And as simply as that, a plan was born.

Ron was unhappy with the hair that Hermione had procured from Millicent Bulstrode's robes.

As he said, "How do we know that the hair is actually hers? For all we know, she could have a cat that she loves with all her Slytherin heart. No, we can't use hairs that we don't actually physically take from someone's scalp."

So, one day in Potions, Harry magicked a few hairs from Bulstrode's head and that was that.

On the day that the plan was supposed to go down, Ron felt miserable. Partly because he had cast a spell on himself that made him sicker than a dog, and partly because he was lying to his friends through his teeth.

With the sickness spell properly cast, Ron stumbled to the hospital wing on the shoulders of his friends and was immediately given a bed and a Pepper-up Potion. The Potion cleared up all symptoms of the spell, but Ron was still running a high fever and his heartbeat was uncommonly fast, much to Madame Pomfrey's confusion and Ron's satisfaction.

Madame Pomfrey insisted that Ron stay in the Hospital Wing. Hermione and Harry worried over him and asked him if it was alright if they went ahead and did the Polyjuice thing without him. He reassured them it was fine, it wasn't like he was missing out on anything, really. So, his friends departed and Ron was left alone. For a time, that is.

About thirty minutes later, Percy stopped by, having heard that he was sick from Ginny, who had been in the Common Room as he was taken from it by his concerned friends.

He apologized for getting upset at them outside the girls bathroom, but insisted again that the 'detective work' be left to the more capable adults. Not out of deference to authority, he persisted, but out of concern for Ron and his friends. Percy still held some residual guilt for being unable to find Ron that fateful day all those years ago, he admitted.

Ron rushed to assure him that there was no way that he could have been found. Percy looked grateful, but he also looked as though he would never forgive himself, no matter how many times Ron forgave him.

Despite appearances, Ron and Percy were pretty close. Though Percy was oftentimes prattish, they were pretty good friends. Everyone had their faults. If Percy's was occasionally being a power-ungry butthead, Ron couldn't fault him for it.

Soon Percy had left and Ron was left alone again.

Which was quite unfortunate.

Ron had, of course, never liked hospitals, clinics, or any kind of medical practices, magical or mundane. So when he had come up with his brilliant plan, he had resigned himself to a day in one of his least favorite places. Now, he was wishing he had thought of a different plan.

Because being alone in the Hospital Wing was bringing back some pretty terrible memories that were, for the most part, normally locked tight in the back of his head.

He tried and mostly succeeded at pushing the errant memories back where they belonged, but the smell of antiseptic was too much and he just couldn't block out them all. Just as he was about to put into action a daring escape from the Hospital Wing, consequences be d*mned, Harry and Hermione returned, looking flustered and uncomfortable.

They rushed to his bedside, looking concerned when they learned that his fever had not broken yet.

"If anything," Ron spoke in a crackly voice, "It's gotten higher."

Thought he could raise and lower his temperature, it did come with consequences. When he raised it up to a fever-level, all of the symptoms of a fever were present. So Ron was miserable and his friends could tell. So they kept the meeting short, relaying the important details before leaving Ron alone to rest. And rest he did. Anything was better than being awake, so Ron forced his body to sleep.

* * *

**(MORE TIME SKIPS! YAY! Set after Harry finds the diary but before he figures it out)**

Ron looked around the dormitory, nodding to himself as he saw that everyone was asleep. Now was the time to sneak out.

Ron had known, once he had flown through the air in the flying car, that there was absolutely no way he could remain grounded anymore.

So when he had gotten to Hogwarts, he had been sneaking out at night every chance he got. Strangely, he noticed, no matter how long he went out, he never felt too tired in the mornings. He supposed it could be some perk that came with being a mutant freak- no matter how much sleep he got, he always felt well-rested, unless he didn't get any sleep, and then he was grumpy as all get-out.

Anyway, back to sneaking out. If anything, he felt better after flying. He wondered how he had stayed sane without taking to the skies for two full years.

Two full years. He couldn't believe it had been so long. It had been two _YEARS_ since he had had any contact with his beloved Flock. He pondered the idea of sending them a letter. It was something to think about.

So deep was his thoughts on the the subject, that he failed to notice Neville trailing after him fearfully.

Neville was not as ignorant as many thought he was. He knew that Harry was obsessing over a diary for some odd reason, he knew that Seamus had a crush on Parvati, and he knew that Ron snuck out at night to do who-knows-what.

The last bit of knowledge was intriguing to Neville in a way that the other two weren't. Why was Ron sneaking out in the dark when there was a very large creature that lurked out there, that could freeze you in place with minimal effort? What was so important to risk that?

So, one night, Neille gathered his courage and followed Ron as he snuck out.

To Neville's surprise, Ron made a beeline to the Forbidden Forest. Why would anyone choose to go there? That place was dangerous, especially at night.

So why was Ron making it a habit to go there? At _night_?

Neville was confused. That was for sure. But he kept following Ron, knowing that perhaps the answer lay in the ultimate destination.

They entered the foreboding treeline and Ron dodged the branches with a skill that came only with experience. He glided gracefully over the dead leaves that lay strewn about on the forest floor and ducked under overhanging branches. Walking behind him, Neville felt like an overgrown elephant in a china shop. It was really lucky that Ron was so deep in his thoughts (composing a mental letter to the Flock, though Neville didn't know), because otherwise Neville would have been caught in the act.

Ron reached a clearing that he was clearly familiar with and, much to Neville's confusion, took off his nightshirt.

_What?!_

It all became clear a few seconds later as Ron spread his _wings_ and took to the sky.

Neville fainted.

Ron grinned as he felt the wind in his hair. There was truly nothing like flying. It cleared the mind like nothing else.

Ron recalled the first time he had actually flown after the car thing. It was at the Burrow. He had a bit of trouble sneaking out because there were a great many creaky steps in the Weasley household. But he had made it, and soon he had been ensconced in the welcoming silence of the forest near his house. He had shrugged out of his shirt- no need to ruin a perfectly good one, after all- and extended his wings.

He stretched them out as far as they would go, and he felt so good because he hadn't done this properly in _AGES_. The relief at not having his wings pressed tight up against his back was instinctual but also foreign. They had been tight against his back for nigh on two years now and just _stretching them out _felt weird.

Ron's wings were weak. He barely got into the air that night and it really hit home how lax he had been.

When he had finished flying and begun going through the exercises Max used to make them do daily, he knew that he was in trouble. Though, to a regular human, he would seem to be super strong, right now he was as weak as a kitten compared to how he had been. _It just goes to show how much daily exercise can help you,_ he thought.

Ever since that night, Ron's main focus had been getting his strength back up. It was a long road to travel, because he had fallen so far, but by the fateful night when Neville had followed him into the Forest, Ron was pretty much as strong as he had been before he had come back to England.

Ron spent about an hour wheeling around in the sky, having fun and scaring the occasional small bird.

While he was doing so, Neville, who had woken up at about the thirty minute mark, was watching as his friend _flew_. In the _sky_._ Without a broom._

There was one thing for certain.

Neville had questions.

**BOOM.**

**How's THAT for a cliffie? **

**Coming up next chapter! Neville's reaction to Ron's wings! The rest of CoS! And whatever else I feel like adding!**

**REVIEW BECAUE I LOVE THEM AND THEY MAKE ME HAPPY AND A HAPPY AUTHOR MAKES HAPPY CHAPPIES! YAY!**

**Also, YOU. Yes, you, the human being or perhaps alien or whoever it is that is reading this sentence right NOW. I have a message for YOU. If you have any taste for good music WHATSOEVER you will to on YouTube and look up "Kill Your Heros" by AWOLNATION. AS SOON AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN. You have been commanded and you wil (hopefully) OBEY! I know it sounds like a weird song but seriously its amazing. FYI, I have never seen the official music video so if it's really weird or something I plead ignorance.**

**~Pseu, the one who feeds off of REVIEWS!**

**Also, read Enders Game. It's a great book that I just finished reading and I loved it.**

**THE END OF CHAPTER 14**


	16. Chapter 15

**There are two things I hate. You want to know what they are?**

**... No?**

**... Well suck it up cause I'm gonna tell you anyways.**

**Number one is the thrice cursed isease known, with dread, as Writers Block. I have suffered greatly from this disease and am not particularly pleased by this fact.**

**Number dos is that which is known as school. No, not the genetic engineering School, the one where you go for teachers to teach you.**

**Unfortunately, said torture is beginning, for me, on Monday. That gives me two days. Two days of freedom before oppression sets in, not to be lifted until SUMMER.**

**Oh! Also I got four teeth removed last week, and then yesterday I got braces. Ugh. I can't eat anything properly.**

**Dentists and orthodontists, it can be stated, are not fun.**

**Now that I have that off my chest, I can continue with the story related dramas.**

**School starting means that I will have less time than normal to write.**

**Which is bad for y'all.**

**Sorry, but there's nothing I can do.**

**ANYWAY. I'll put some more stuff at the bottom. SOME IMPORTANT STUFF THAT YOU NEED TO READ WILL BE AT THE BOTTOM OKAY?**

**See you there!**

**Goodness that was a long A/N... ENJOY THE CHAPTER AND IF YOU READ ALL OF THAT YOU GET A COOKIE.**

**Chapter 15**

Ron finally noticed that something was amiss when he landed from his rejuvenating flight.

His feet had just touched the ground when he heard a rustle in the bush to his left. He spun around in that direction and assumed a casual fighting pose- one that prepared him for if it was an Eraser but casual enough that it could be brushed off if one of the Hogwartians had followed him.

To Ron's great surprise, Neville was the one who emerged from the bushes. Not that he had anything against Neville, he was just surprised that the rotund boy had been courageous enough to sneak out at night just to figure out what he had been doing. He had been expecting Harry, to be honest. But he knew that the Sorting Hat had put Neville in Gryffindor for a reason, and this appeared to be said reason.

Ron relaxed from his hostile position and spoke, "Oh. Hullo, Neville. Fancy seeing you here."

Neville rose an eyebrow.

Ron sighed after a beat of incredulous silence then said,. "I suppose I'll have to explain this whole thing, yeah?"

The look on Neville's face said _Obviously_.

Ron nodded to himself, mentally switching gears from _flying_ to _bloody hell I'm going to have to actually tell someone about_ that time_, aren't I?_

When his train of thought had switched tracks, he waved at the ground invitingly, saying, "It's kind of a long story- have a seat?" And Neville did. Ron joined him on the forest's floor, leaning his back against a nearby tree. For a while, they remained still, each studying the other. Neville trying to reconcile the two images of his friend into one, full picture, and Ron, noting every emotion that displayed itself on Neville's face. He saw, of course, wonder, awe, confusion. Those were to be expected. What he didn't get, however, was the complete and utter lack of fear, or anger, or any of the other negative emotions that the darker parts of his mind projected when he imagined such a situation.

For about three minutes, they both stared at each other as if the other held the secrets to eternal youth or world peace or infinite wealth or one of the other things that man was always seeking. They observed each other, each in wonderment at the other for completely different reasons.

Neville asked, "Well? Are you going to explain then?"

"Yeah, I probably should. I guess it all started when I was five."

"Yeah, you disappeared, right? I remember that your mum put a missing ad in the Daily Prophet."

"She did? Huh. She never told me that. Anyway, I never told anyone where I was when I disappeared. They asked, everyone asked, but I never told, and eventually they just stopped asking. That day, the one when it all started, I was just playing outside in the garden and mum was inside cooking or something. Before I knew it, a man came up to the house and stabbed me with a hypodermic needle that contained, I presume, a sedative. I woke up in a Muggle research facility in California."

Neville, who had never been all that great at geography, said, "California's in America, right?"

"Yeah, America. The Muggle facility was illegal. They were trying, as far as we could tell, to improve the human race through genetic mutation. They had needed a young wizard specimen to, I assume, test if animal DNA could be successfully grafted on a wizard and how the magic would affect the experient. I think. Anyway, the School, which is what we call the Muggle research facility, had been fixated on animal mutations for a while before I came. They had made some successful Muggle hybrids, more on them later. Now, I guess, they were branching out into Wizard hybrids. I was the first successful Avian Wizard, hence the wings. It's all very scientific but they injected me with bird DNA and it pretty much changed my entire body structure or something like that. I didn't pay much attention because getting your entire body structure changed is pretty painful.

"So I was put in a room with a few other experiments. They were all Muggles that had been crossed with bird so they all had wings. At first, there were Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, and me. Then Gazzy and Angel joined us a year or two in. Don't ask about the names- apparently they all picked them themselves. Three years into my stay at the School, one of the scientists helped us escape. His name was Jeb. He hid us away in an abandoned place in Colorado. We stayed there for a while, a sort of dysfunctional family of sorts. Until one day Jeb just disappeared. We couldn't find him, no matter how hard we looked. Max, since she was the oldest, was put in charge. Soon I decided it was time to head back to England and so here I am."

Ron finished his narrative with a sigh. Neville was silent, mulling over what he had been told.

A minute or two later, Neville said, "Huh. Okay."

Ron was surprised at that. "Really? I just bare my soul to you and all you have is 'Huh. Okay.'?!"

"Well what else is there to say, really?" Neville pointed out astutely.

"You make a very good point. Anyway, I think we should be heading back. I've been in this part of the woods often enough but never for this long at one time. We should probably leave."

Neville nodded and they departed, Ron slipping back on his nightshirt. As they walked, they talked. Neville was, of course, curious. It wasn't everyday that you discovered your roommate had wings. So Neville asked questions and Ron answered to the best of his ability.

"So does being part bird affect your magic?" Neville asked.

"Not particularly, that I've noticed. I think my nature-related spells are a bit more powerful than normal but that could be that I just have a natural affinity towards them. I don't really know."

"Huh. Interesting. How much bird is in you anyway? Did they give you a fraction or a percent or a decimal or something?"

"Actually, yes. Jeb told us that we were all 2% bird. I always thought it was weird that such a small percent caused so much change."

Neville nodded, then asked another question. "What was America like?"

Ron raised his eyebrow at that one. "America? Why would you want to know about America?"

"I don't know, I'm just curious I guess."

"Well, like I said, the first three years were spent locked in a secret facility and the next two were spent on a mountain in Colorado, so I didn't really get a sense of the American culture. We did have a TV at the house though and America has a lot of sit-coms. And they like burgers. That's pretty much all I got."

"Okay. Um, how do you fly? I thought it was impossible- human bones are too dense or something like that."

"That's where the bird comes in. Our bones are completely hollow and we are really light. I weigh 40.36* kilograms, actually. Flying takes a lot of energy though. That's why I eat so much."

"Really? I always wondered about that."

"Should I feel creeped out?"

"No."

"Okay."

Son they arrived at the castle. They had little trouble sneaking back into their dorms. Neville was secretly concerned at the ease that Ron had sneaking around at night, but he decided that the less he thought about it the better.

Each lay on their beds, thinking about the events, before finally drifting into peaceful sleep.

*** I dunno. At first I had it in pounds, being of american origin, but then I remembered that British people use the metric system or whatever. So. I hope that's right.**

_**OKAY Y'ALL IT'S TIME FOR THE IMPORTANT THING.**_

**I am an indecisive person, okay? So I thought I would let y'all help me in the decision area of things, K? **

**The decision that needs making is as follows: What scenes should I put in here? Should I jump from this scene to the Chamber of Secrets, or should I do some little ones in the interim? I DON'T KNOW. WHAT DO Y'ALL WANT?**

**Please inform me before I go insane.**

**ALSO! BraveDauntless, a guest, wanted me to recommend Rise by Skillet. I listened to it and it was decent, though not my favorite song.**

**I would also like to recommend anything by OneRepublic and also Help I'm Alive by Metric.**

**ALSO READ DIVERGENT OMK BEST BOOK EVER HOLY CARP I LOVE THAT BOOK OKAY? **

**I leave you with one last request and announcement- HOLY FLIPPING CARP GUYS I HAVE 111 REVIEWS. DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW AMAZING AND HAPPY THAT MAKES ME FEEL?! I THINK I JUST EXPLODED AGAIN OKAY? SERIOUSLY I LOVE Y'ALL SO VERY MUCH FOR THIS OKAY YOU ALL ROCK. HAVE SOME COOKIES. COOKIES FOR EVERYONE. I AM SO EXCITED THAT I MANAGED TO MAKE 100+ PEOPLE HAPPY THROUGH MY WORDS. I CANNOT EXPRESS IN WORDS HOW AMAZING THIS MAKES ME FEEL ALRIGHT? SERIOUSLY Y'ALL ARE THE FLIPPING BEST OKAY I HOPE YOU KNOW THAT.**

**I am so lucky to have such amazing readers.**

**I LOVE YOU (IN A NOT CREEPY, COMPLETELY PLATONIC WAY, OBVIOUSLY)**

**Well. Once I open my big fat mouth I just can't stop, can I? Extra cookies if you read both A/Ns because they were both really really long.**

**HAPPY DAY/NIGHT!**

**~Pseu, the one who is exploding from excitement over her reviews right now, currently, as you read this sentence**


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